Houthi rebels launched a missile strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 309, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities. The attack, the third on the airport this week, forced its temporary closure and diverted all flights, authorities said .
The dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and one person each from the U.S., Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, the Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed . Hospitals in Riyadh were overwhelmed as casualties arrived by ambulance and helicopter, with some in critical condition after the strike, which occurred without warning .
Saudi Arabia vowed to retaliate, while U.S. President Donald Trump called the attack “not acceptable” and said Washington may join Saudi strikes against the Houthis . U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the strike, calling it “reprehensible” .
The Houthis, who have not claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack, previously targeted the airport twice this week, killing four and damaging a commercial aircraft . The group warned commercial airliners to avoid Saudi airspace after Saudi-backed Yemeni forces launched an offensive on Monday .
